


The Sense of Touch

by Liara_90



Category: RWBY
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Birthday Sex, Blind Character, Braille, Coco has some boundary issues, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Heterosexual Sex, POV Third Person, Prompt Fill, Slice of Life, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 16:37:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12821619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liara_90/pseuds/Liara_90
Summary: Fox Alistair's birthday is fast-approaching, and Velvet Scarlatina wants to keep her boyfriend guessing.Smut with a heavy scoop of plot. Written in response to the prompt of "CFVY + Birthday Surprise"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _First_ , this work was written in response to the prompt of "CFVY + Birthday Surprise", when I was [soliciting smutty prompts on Tumblr](http://www.pvoberstein.tumblr.com/post/167679908058/some-of-my-favourite-smut-prompts). Send some ideas over, and maybe I'll work on 'em.
> 
> ( _First-and-a-half,_ I am glad that this was a _prompt_ and not a _commission_ , because Merciful Zeus did it go places I did not intend to.)
> 
>  _Second_ , this is a work **best viewed on a desktop browser, not a mobile device**. Why? Because at a few points in the story, you're going to want to **mouse-over** certain bits to see the **hover text**. There aren't many of them, but you'll know them when you see them.

Fox Alistair stepped into the Grand Foyer of the Royal Atlas Hotel, blissfully ignorant of the dozens of wayward glances being cast his way. He shook the worst of the snow from his hair with a shake of his head, droplets of water appearing like breadcrumbs behind him as he crossed the marbled floors. He blew on his fingers as he took in the sounds of his temporary abode, rubbing his hands for the warmth of friction after so long in the cold.

“Can I… _help you_ … sir?” came an august voice from beside Fox, the tone suggesting the speaker was on the fence as to whether the man before him was actually a wandering vagabond.

“ _Huntsmen Alistair_ ,” Fox replied by way of introduction, bowing his head in the direction of the speaker. “Could you tell me where the lifts are?”

“Ah, _excuse me_.” The speaker’s tone was appropriately accommodating now. “Straight down _that_ hallway, past the dining room.” Fox turned to face what he hoped was the speaker’s head, fingers tapping his temple as he did. “Oh, _my apologies_ , sir. To your left, about forty yards. Would you like me to lead you there?”

“Nah,” Fox answered. “I’ll find my way, thanks.”

“As you wish…” replied the speaker ( _a bellhop?_ ), his uneasy tone betraying his skepticism. “Just shout for Jarl if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Jarl.” And with that Fox was off, shuffling in small steps towards where he’d been told the elevators would be. He had a very strong sense of direction, and could estimate quite accurately how far each stride of his took him. His hands hung loosely at his sides, ready to brace against anything he stumbled into, bare arms still blue from his brush with hypothermia.

 _The shuttle bus will only be five minutes_ , he heard Coco’s (lying) voice in his head. _You okay if we leave you to freeze to death outside the convention center?_ (At least, that was how he was choosing to remember it).

“You won’t kill me that easily,” he muttered under his breath, rubbing his biceps as he spoke.

The uneasy shuffling of nearby footsteps suggested he had not been entirely out of everyone’s earshot.

With only a few minor collisions, Fox found his way to the elevator bay, entering a car a half-minute later. For once he wouldn’t have minded sharing his space with someone sighted, but there were no footfalls near him.

“ _Ground floor_ ,” an electronically-accented woman declared, as the doors slid open. Fox made his way in, groping blindly for the control panel.

“Come on, come on, come on…” he murmured to himself, fingers running over the metallic paneling in the vague hopes of finding Braille. “Nope? No, of course not.” Under Atlas law - or so Coco had told him - all elevator were _supposed_ to have blind-accessible Braille panels in them. Except older buildings were apparently grandfathered in, exempt from the new regulations.

He sighed, and began running his fingers laterally along the buttons. His target floor was the twenty-first. The buttons were arranged in a grid four columns wide. Assuming there was some semblance of logic to the numbering:

( _One-two-three-_ four _, one-two-three-_ eight _, one-two-three-_ twelve _, one-two-three-_ sixteen _, one-two-three-_ twenty, one.) His finger hovered over _a_ button. ( _Wait, there’s probably a level between_ Ground _and Second_ ). His finger slid one button to the right, and tapped it.

He counted the electronic _chirps_ of the elevator as it ascended, brow furrowing as the car slowed to a halt _far_ too early.

“ _Ninth_ floor.”

Fox let out a defeated sigh, returning to the control panel to make another guess. He was going to be here for a while.

* * *

“ _Twenty-first_ floor,” the elevator voice announced, as the doors finally parted on the correct level.

“Go fuck yourself,” Fox grumbled, exiting the car.

He’d finally figured it out, if only with the kind dogged experimentation that must’ve made him look like an absolute maniac to anyone watching on a camera. He’d ( _eventually_ ) deduced the asinine numbering system, which had the numbers arranged in _descending columns_ , _two_ levels between the Lobby and 2, and it also skipped _eleven_ , an unlucky number in old Mantle culture. Because _why not_.

“Excuse me?” Fox belatedly realized someone must have been waiting for his elevator.

He sighed, defeated. “Elevator problems,” he muttered, slipping awkwardly past the man before him. He found himself in a hallway with no real idea as to which way to turn, so he picked one at random, fingers trailing along the wall.

This had sounded a lot less aggravating an hour ago.

Velvet had left him a voicemail saying she’d left the _Do Not Disturb_ sign on the door, and it was early enough in the evening that there shouldn’t have been _too_ many of those out. He could always call her and just ask her to come out - could have done that ten minutes ago, truthfully - but... 

...his fingers continued grazing along the wallpaper, feeling for the contours of doors and door handles…

… he’d always been stubborn.

His fingers found something plastic hooked around a handle, which he figured was as good a guess as any. Reaching in his wallet for the keycard Velvet had handed him earlier in the day, he moved to slide the plastic into the reader, only to find something already there.

 _Another card_.

Not the plastic access cards, no, this was a small piece of paper. He was pretty sure he recognized it, plucking it out and running it between his fingers. _Yup_. It went with a specialized printer Coco had bought shortly after they began at Beacon. It was an absurd amount of lien for a glorified label maker, _but_ it could print using an [intumescent ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intumescent)ink, which made it _easily_ the most convenient way of creating Braille text.

Text his fingers found a second later, running over the bumps to reveal the message:

⠠⠠⠛⠑⠞ ⠠⠠⠊⠝⠠⠠⠞⠓⠑ ⠠⠠⠃⠁⠞⠓

Smiling despite his lingering annoyance, Fox inserted his own key into the reader, which unlocked the door with a _chirp._

He loved it when his girlfriend had a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hint: If you didn't already, go back and hover over the Braille with your cursor :D

Coco Adel schlepped herself up the stairwell of her condominium, cursing for the umpteenth time the electrical failure that had left it without working lifts. The duffel bag filled with her gym gear seemed to have doubled in weight since this morning, its strap digging painfully into trapezius muscles just recently pushed to the point of tearing.

" _Last...damn...time..._ " Coco grumbled to the empty stairwell, lit only by moonlight trickling in from narrow windows. Yatsuhasi Daichi was a man of many abilities, and _pushing her to her physical limits_ was most definitely one of them. She wouldn't have it any other way, of course - CFVY didn't maintain the highest Grimm kill count on Sanus by skimping their calisthenics - but that didn't mean she particularly had to _like_ it.

_Fourteen.... fifteen... sixteen..._

She finally reached the CFVY domicile - a penthouse suite that had seemed a lot more attractive when the elevator had worked regularly - throwing the door open and dropping her duffel bag unceremoniously beside it. " _I'm back_ ," she called out, to no one in particular, kicking off her running shoes and she did. Sweaty socks padded across hardwood floors, Coco rubbing her neck with her hand as she made her way inside.

" _Velvet_?" Coco called out with unusual uncertainty. Unless she was napping on the couch or tinkering with her Box, Velvet usually popped out of whatever room she was in to say _hi_. "You home? 

" _In the bathroom_ ," Velvet hollered back, her voice somewhat muffled by the door.

Coco shook her head, strolling over to the kitchen - open, modern, and stocked for four - pouring herself a glass of water from the sink and gulping it down greedily. Her hand rested on the countertop, a few droplets of water ringing her mouth. "I really need a shower," she said loudly, setting down the cup and making her way back to the living space. The sweat stains on her undershirt certainly didn't lie. " _Please_ tell me the water pressure's fine?"

She'd anticipated a lot of hardship, moving back to Vale, helping rebuild the city and the Kingdom that had been through so much these last few years. Marauding Grimm. Pockets of bandits. Constant shortages of the consumers goods the other Kingdoms took for granted.

Shitty water pressure hadn't been on the list. _One_ Grimm wyvern flies into the municipal hydro plant, and steady showers suddenly become a luxury.

"Pressure's fine," Velvet confirmed. " _Ow_."

Coco raised an eyebrow, making her way towards the bathroom. "You okay in there, Velvs?"

" _Fine_ ," her roommate called back. "I'll be out in a sec. Just... _ow._ "

Coco's curiosity had morphed from _mild interest_ to _moderate concern_ , Velvet's short and sharp yelps of pain inconsistent with the languorous _moans_ of suffering that usually accompanied a strenuous workout. This was more like.. plucking glass from a cut.

The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, Coco noted on approach, something she'd expect from Fox - and herself on a particularly slovenly day - but certainly never shy & proper Scarlatina.

“ _Ah._ ” That last yelp was quieter than the last, a stifled whimper, like wounded prey.

Coco’s knuckles rasped the bathroom door. Perfectly balanced on its hinges, the door swung inwards at the touch.

Her eyes swept the room in seconds, the anomalies standing out immediately. A Scroll propped up on the sink. A glossy magazine in the bath. The floor, littered with rectangular strips of flimsy paper.

Velvet Scarlatina, seated on the lip of the tub, her bare leg extended with her foot resting on the adjacent toilet lid.

“Velvs,” Coco took a few, faltering steps forward, even as a small smile crept to her face. “Are you… _waxing_?”

Velvet stuck out her tongue in a churlish gesture. “Yes, Coco. Laugh at my suffering while you can,” she grumbled, reaching for another leaf of wax strips from a stack in the soap dish. Coco watched with somewhat morbid curiosity as Velvet peeled the strips apart. The motion catalyzed the grains of Fire Dust baked into the wax strip, creating instant heat for the adhesive, when once friction had had to do. Velvet affixed the waxen patch to an expanse of skin along her calf, hesitating only fractionally before yanking it off with a yelp.

“ _Ow_.” She glared at Coco. “If you’re just here to _watch_ , kindly go be a lech somewhere else.” The self-inflicted agony was obviously doing little for her mood.

“Sorry,” Coco apologized, with a bashful smile. “I just don’t think I’ve ever seen you wax before.”

“Well, that’s because I _haven’t_ ,” Velvet replied, tartly. “It’s not exactly popular on Menagerie, you know.” She finished massaging her newly-bared skin, reaching for another strip but finding the stack empty. “I’m sorry,” she said, with a small sigh. “Could you pass me the box, please?”

Coco handed Velvet the box of “ _Plaid’s Natural Warm Wax_ ”, eyeing the mismatched patchwork that was now Velvet’s leg as she did. “So… what’s the occasion?” she asked. Coco was pretty sure she knew the answer, but she also wanted to work her way back into her friend’s good graces.

Velvet blushed a little, tucking her chin into her chest as she fumbled with the next strip. “...Fox’s birthday,” she mumbled, on the edge of audibility.

Coco smiled despite herself. “ _Someone_ must have been good this year,” she teased, watching Velvet’s blush redden further.

“Don’t be a pest,” Velvet chided, defensively. She set the strip in her hands down, the adhesive wax unheated. “It’s the first time I’ve, y’know…” her head weaved _to_ and _fro_ “...had a boyfriend’s birthday to plan for.” Her second set of ears drooped a little at that.

Coco _hummed_ and took a seat on the toilet, Velvet’s unpainted toenails a few inches from her fingers. From her new perch, Coco could make out the glossy mag in the tub, instantly identifying it _Metropolitan_ (or just _Metro_ , in common conversation). Without conscious thought her finger ran over the bumps of Velvet’s toes, the tiny digits curling slightly at the touch. “So you’re going to give him a birthday surprise?”

“What? It’s not weird,” Velvet replied.

The leader of CFVY smiled that small, warm smile of hers. Velvet never failed to melt her heart, no matter the years they’d known each other. There was such an earnestness to Velvet’s nervousness, an adorableness impossible to put into words. Seeing her push herself a little out of her zone of comfort, for the benefit of the man she’d fallen in love with, was, _well_ , sweet on the edge of saccharine.

“It’s not weird,” Coco confirmed. “Whether or nox Fox _deserves_ such a perfect girlfriend is an entirely different question, though.”

Velvet shot her a scowl, but this time there was no menace in the glare. “Jealousy is rather unbecoming, Miss Adel,” she fired back, putting on a haughty tone.

Coco rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying: before you go overboard with indulging his sexual fantasies-” she made an airy gesture towards the _Metro_ magazine Velvet had been cribbing from “-just let me tell you this that the biggest _birthday surprise_ for Fox is that he even _has_ a girlfriend.”

Velvet frowned, squinting at the lines on her leg where her strips hadn’t quite aligned. “If you can’t be _happy_ for us…”

Coco snorted. “I really _am_ , Velvet, in all seriousness. You kids are cute toget-”

“ _Kids_? Did you forget which of us is older?”

“By a matter of _months_ ,” Coco quibbled. (She rather wilfully forgot that fact on a regular basis.) “What made you decide to wax, though?”

Velvet shrugged. “I figure he’ll appreciate it,” she offered. “More than most men, I mean.” She traced a finger along her her leg. “Something that _feels_ different.”

Coco leaned forward, ruffling Velvet’s hair playfully. “I won’t let him forget when it’s _your_ turn for a birthday.”

“Don’t, Coco,” Velvet replied, sounding tired. “I don’t like thinking of romance that way. As some sort of an _account_ that needs to be balanced.”

Coco leaned back. “I’m kidding,” she appended, belatedly. “When’s the big day, again? Next Wednesday?”

“Thursday,” Velvet corrected. “We’re in Atlas for that recruitment _thing_ , so unfortunately we won’t have much time together until the evening.”

“Ah well,” Coco said, patting Velvet’s leg as she got to her feet. “I’m sure you kids will make the most of it.”

Velvet shook her head at Coco’s phrasing, before peeling open another strip. “Thanks, Coco,” she said, pressing the wax to her skin.

Coco made her way to the door, one hand resting on the handle. “Hey… this might be a dumb question…” she began, tentatively.

“Yeah? _Ow_.” Velvet yanked a few hundred more hairs out by their roots.

“Is there a particular reason you’re not wearing underwear for this?”

She glanced over her shoulder towards Velvet, who was suddenly pulling her knees together. “Well yeah,” Velvet muttered. “I was going to get it all.”

Coco visibly paled.

“ _Yourself_? Using _Plaid’s strips_?”

Velvet blushed. “There are _videos_ ,” she said, as if that explained anything, gesturing towards her propped-up Scroll. Coco suddenly realized that that video was for a DIY bikini wax tutorial.

Coco was dragging Velvet bodily out the door before either woman had time to speak. “I’m taking you to a professional,” she stated, with the same determination she used directing their battles against the Grimm.

“ _But_ -”

“ _My treat_ ,” Coco insisted.

Velvet would thank her later, she swore.


	3. Chapter 3

_GET IN THE BATH_

Fox’s fingers rubbed the card a few more times, unthinkingly, committing the sounds of those dots to memory. He hesitated for a moment, pausing just over the threshold of the hotel room, listening to the gentle _whirr_ of the door’s locks re-engaging.

“Hello?”

His own voice seemed to echo back at him. He didn’t pretend to have echolocation superpowers, but the room certainly felt… _big_. Hardly surprising, given that the pad had been paid for by Coco Adel herself, but... 

He slipped out of shoes - entirely ill-suited for the thick snow he’d been trudging through - his soles suddenly luxuriating in the touch of a welcoming rug underfoot. The room’s lights were off - even blind, he could tell the difference between _pitch-black_ and _well-lit_ \- giving him another minor mystery to ponder over as his feet were warmed. Circulation had been restored to his toes during his ordeal in the elevator, though that had also given time for the melting snow to soak his skin.

“ _Velvet_?” He called out for a second time, taking a few tentative steps deeper into the cavern that was apparently his hotel room. His hand brushed along the wall, searching for a switch, but none were to be found. ( _Figures_ ). The added illumination wouldn’t have done much for his vision, but it still felt weird to wander about in darkness.

There was a sound coming from his right, accompanied by a small sliver of light. _Bubbling water_ , or something similar. ( _Three guesses as to where the bathroom is._ ) He made his way to the washroom, cautiously, the transition from carpet to marble telegraphing the change of setting. _This_ room was well-lit, he could tell, and closer inspection confirmed that the bubbling water was coming from a whirlpool tub of some sort. He’d never known a hotel to have one before, but it _did_ suit the polar climate of Atlas better than temperate Vale.

“You just left this on, then…” Fox said to himself, one final confirmation that he was alone. He gave the embossed card one last read, repeating the instructions in his head, before he set it down on the bathroom’s countertop. His hand brushed against a small bag as he did - Velvet’s toiletries kit, he was pretty damn sure - deepening the mystery as to exactly where she was.

Without a clue as to what was to come, Fox shrugged unceremoniously out of his clothing. His unzipped orange vest was dropped to the marble, his snow-soaked pants soon following suit. His underwear went last, balled up and tossed beneath the sink counter, leaving Fox with nothing to do but the task laid out before him.

He clambered awkwardly over the edge of the tub, dipping a toe in the water, wincing slightly as the heat seared his feet. Still, the sensation was pleasurable, and he wasted no time lowering the rest of his body in. There was a small groove along the side - a natural recess to rest upon - his skin becoming flush with the rapidly changing temperature. The whirlpool jets continued without interruption, buffeting his nether regions, and muffling his sense of sound. He let his arms spread along the lip of the tub - keeping much of his torso out to equalize the temperatures - and wondered what on Remnant Velvet was up to.

He had to wait all of three seconds.

“ _Hello, Fox_ ,” came a low and feminine voice, the tone resting on the knife’s edge between playful and sultry. It was coming from no more than a foot away from him, from the other side of the tub-

“ _Glad you could fin_ -”

“ ** _Gah_**!’”

Fox was mostly out of the tub by the time his brain realized that it had been his girlfriend speaking. Fox suddenly found himself seated out of the pool, calves dangling in the water, waiting for the thunderous pounding of his heart to slow.

“ _Oh shoot_ hey Fox, it’s me… Velvet!” His girlfriend’s voice was trying to sound as cheerful as an apology could be. “Um… _surprise_?!”

“Oh.” Fox’s body finally caught up with his brain, and his breathing resumed its regular rhythm. He lowered himself back into the tub with redoubled caution, still keeping his arms resting along the lip. “You can’t sneak up on my like that.”

She really _couldn’t_ , he was pretty damn sure. He already paid twice as much again attention to his sense of sound as the average man, and he had years’ of experience as a practising Huntsmen, keeping his ears peeled for the snapped twig which could herald an attacking Grimm. Which meant... 

“...I was already in here,” Velvet explained, cottoning on to his train of thought. “The jets probably helped.”

“Helped _you_ ,” Fox couldn’t help but grumble. He buoyed himself in the water, one leg floating to find Velvets’. “How long were you waiting for?”

“ _Heh_.” She drifted the short distance across the tub to him, straddling his resting form. There was a small _splash_ as she lifted her hands from the water, placing her palms against his cheeks. “How do I feel?”

“Like a prune,” Fox answered, with a teasing grin. Her fingers ran along the lines of his face, leaving moistened trails in their wake.

Fox moved without thinking, arms dropping from the side of the tub so he could envelop his beloved with a wet hug. Before he could come halfway to encircling her, though, Velvet caught each of his wrists in her hands, freezing him in place. “Velvet?”

“ _Not yet_ ,” she said, her voice reverting to that low and sensuous whisper. “No touching.”

Fox said nothing but complied, returning his arms to their rests as Velvet released him. He heard her slipping halfway out of the water, mind afire with possibilities, before the jets suddenly came to a stop. A moment later, he realized the tub was slowly draining.

“I was just getting used to it,” Fox griped in jest, as the water began receding below his sternum.

“You’ll like this more,” Velvet promised. Fox raised an eyebrow, inviting further explanations, but opted against babbling when Velvet offered none.

He heard something being _squirted_ , and barely stifled a laugh at the sound.

“Remember,” Velvet reiterated, drifting across the ever-shallower pool towards him. “Don’t move.”

He thought that was going to be easy. What was he, a horny teenager itching to cop a feel? He was no virginal neophyte, primed to exploded at the faintest feminine touch-

- _Her hands, his chest._

There was some lotion on them, he could tell. Some soapy gel that smelled like what Coco bought by the barrel. The smell was gentle and inoffensive - neither he nor Velvet were much for strong scents - but lost entirely in the feel of her hands on his skin. She began with his pectorals, then lavished gel and attention on his shoulders, around the back of his neck. From there she moved to his arms, two hands running over shoulder, then bicep, then forearm, pausing only to entwine fingers for a moment. Fox found himself fighting muscle memory, _straining_ not to reciprocate the touch as he always would’ve.

By the time she was done with his torso, the water in the tub had drained to a deep puddle around his ankles. He somehow hadn’t noticed the change in temperature. More _squirts_ , and Velvet pressed lower, trying not to tickle as she ran her hands over toned abdominal muscles.

“And here I was worried you wouldn’t enjoy this,” she mused mockingly, her hands resting on the uppermost parts of his thighs.

 _She was taking her_ sweet _damn time soaping them off._ “Well-” Fox instinctively moved his hand from from the tub’s edge, before Velvet’s jab to his ribcage reminded him of his voluntary immobility. “ _Oh_ , Maidens.” Her fingers brushes along the base of his shaft, which had needed no further prompting to go _strenuously_ erect.

Velvet sunk to the floor of the tub with the last of the water, hands oh-so-reluctantly moving from thigh to calf to foot. Her hands moved over his newly-slicked skin, tracing long lines along his legs.

“Turn around,” she instructed, and Fox hadn’t the willpower for playful resistance. He twisted about in the tub, for the first time fully aware of its plastic walls and grooved floor, his chin resting on the padded edge. _Squirt_. Velvet approach from behind, a hand coming to rest on either shoulder blade, rubbing sensuous circles into his back. _Pushing_ against the muscles along his spine, moving up one vertebrae at a time until they were relieving the tension by his neck.

“And here I thought you didn’t like surprises,” Velvet murmured, her teeth nibbling at an ear. She leaned back, hands retracing their way towards his waist, then _lower_.

“ _Well_..” Fox wanted to say something, but Velvet was rubbing the backs of his thighs. His girlfriend caught the way his tongue was tied, giggling mirthfully to herself.

She tapped something on the control panel, and the tub began filling anew. “Now that your heart’s beating… for the _right_ reasons…” her hands enveloped his waist, fingers brushing against the tip of his member. Fox could feel an oh-too-real throbbing, the sensuous laving having sensitized him to the slightest touch... 

Velvet hopped out of the tub in one fluid motion, landing with a wet _slap_ on the marbled floor outside. “Wait for the tub to refill,” she instructed, as Fox looked askance in her direction. “Wash off. There’s…” she faltered for a fraction of a second. “A bathrobe by the loo.”

Fox let out a pathetic whimper at their separation. “This is some scheme of Coco’s, isn’t it? Torture by foreplay.” And that was _not_ one of his kinks.

“Oh, not at all,” Velvet replied, with playful glee. Even over the pooling of water, Fox could hear her wrapping herself in a towel. Her feet padded against the marble towards him. “She thought my plan was _far_ too cruel.” She planted a kiss on his forehead. “Enjoy your bath.”


	4. Chapter 4

“ _It’s her first time_ ,” Velvet heard Coco saying, softly but firmly. Her own foot thumped the floor impatiently, waiting for her Fearless Leader to set things up. “ _So, you know… try to be gentle._ ”

“I’m not a _child_ ,” Velvet called out without turning her head, vaguely annoyed at hearing herself being talked _about_ while she was in the same room.

“ _Of course not_ ,” agreed the attendant, an older woman whose hands were gloved in blue latex. “Take a seat.”

Velvet hauled herself into one of the faux leather chairs, lying on her back, eyes drifting to a celebrity-stalking show on the telly. Coco - apparently under the illusion of providing moral support - had followed her into the waxing room, which looked _far_ too much like a discount hospital set for Velvet to be at ease.

“Velvs… towel…” murmured Coco, and Velvet quickly put the pieces together, blushing a little as she did. Nakedness before her Teammates was nothing new to Velvet, but having anyone but a physician poke around _down under_ was a psychological hurdle to clear.

She wiggled out of her pants and undergarments, draping a plush white towel over her nether region just before The Waxologist closed the door.

( _Why am I bothering with a towel? It’s not like she isn’t going to see everything…)_

The lock on the door _clicked_.

Coco tried to distract her with small talk but Velvet simply wasn’t having it, not as she watched The Waxologist twirl a wooden stick inside a what could only be described as a _vat of goop_.

“Ooooh that’s hot,” whimpered Velvet, as the wax was smeared on. Her face contorted as her skin was pushed and pulled by a stranger.

“Ready?” The Waxologist asked.

_You jump out of airships to fight Creatures of Grimm on a regular basis. Monsters beyond comprehension. You’ve gone into battle against enemies most humans couldn’t even_ dream _of. A lifetime of hardship and violence. What’s a little wax going to-_

“Aaa _AAAAhhhh_.”

* * *

“It’s been five minutes,” Coco mused, more to herself than anyone within earshot. “Think we should help?”

“ _I do_ not _need help!_ ” Velvet stated, moce emphatically than convincingly, from the other side of the change room’s curtain. “Just… _one sec_.”

Coco shook her head. “Yatsu, give her hand.”

Yatsuhashi Daiichi blushed a shade of red normally reserved for crystals of Fire Dust at the peak of a reaction. “ _Respectfully_ … this isn’t something…I can help with...” He went back to trying to make himself as invisible as possible, which for a seven-foot-tall man in a lingerie store was not exactly an _easy_ undertaking.

Coco let out a vaguely disapproving growl, pulling herself up from her stool with a small groan. “Well, I guess this is why I’m Team Leader.” She threw the curtain open with a theatrical wave, causing Velvet to practically topple over and Yatsu to jump to his feet and yank it _back_.

“ _Ow_.” Velvet had somehow managed to bang her head on a low peg during the invasion. “Can I _help_ you, Miss Adel?”

“I think that’s my line,” Coco answered, with a playful grin.

Velvet let out a defeated sigh. “This was a mistake.”

“I hate to remind you but this was _your_ idea,” Coco pointed out. Velvet groaned. “Think of it this way: high-end Velutina’s Secret stuff lasts a _while_. _At least_ your next three or four boyfriends.”

That earned Coco and eyeroll. “Just help me figure _this_ out.”

‘ _This_ ’ being the kind of elaborate stockings-and-garter-belt set that Velvet had to her knowledge never seen actually _worn_ on anyone. It had fit the mental image of the night she was constructing in her head - the night where she was the most desirable woman alive for an amorous encounter with her boyfriend - but _getting_ there was proving to be a lot more awkward than she’d hoped.

“I can get the front straps but not…” Velvet’s sentence trailed off as Coco crouched behind her, fiddling with the suspender clips. Velvet wobbled a little.

“ _There_ ,” said Coco, fastening stocking to belt. “You just needed to give yourself some slack.”

Velvet nodded a little glumly, and Coco belatedly clued into the two meanings of her words.

“Velvs, I’m really happy that you and Fox are making this work, but by the twin gods do _not_ feel like you are somehow failing to meet expectations.” Coco realized that she was shaking Velvet ever-so-slightly. She let her hands fall to her sides. “Velvet, you are _literally_ the most loving, caring person I have ever met, without exception, full-stop.”

“ _Thanks_ ,” Velvet replied, softly, eyes averted.

Coco barreled onwards. “And if you want to jump through all these hoops to give your boyfriend a sexy surprise on his birthday, well, power to you.” Coco sighed. “But do _not_ kill yourself trying to reach some feminine beauty ideal, _copy_?”

Velvet smiled a little at that. “Copy, Team Leader,” she said back, with their battlefield call and response.

“ _Good_. And if I hear a murmur of complaint out of Fox, I’ll add some _new_ scars to-”

“-He’s fine,” Velvet interrupted. “ _Most_ of the time,” she added, with a teasing grin.

“You crazy kids,” Coco replied, repeating what was rapidly becoming her new motto. Velvet smiled. “Alright, well, now that you’ve figured out how they work, let’s get some feedback and-”

“Wait, what-”

Coco through the curtain open. “Yatsu, you’re a guy. Yay or nay on the lace trim?”

Yatsuhashi suddenly found the water stain on the ceiling to be of _otherworldly_ fascination.

* * *

“One last shop, I promise,” pleaded Coco, half-dragging Velvet by the hand towards a boutique of questionable propriety.

“But… _chocolates_ ,” Velvet countered, pointing with her free hand towards the Finest Chocolatier in all of Remnant. Like all of CFVY, Velvet had a horrendous sweet tooth, and a birthday was an excuse to splurge on delicacies that were sure to be shared with her.

“Chocolates can wait,” Coco declared, tugging Velvet across the threshold.

Velvet allowed herself to be dragged into the sex shop, arms immediately folding at her chest.

To its credit, The Lovers Barrell actually looked like a perfectly-pleasant establishment, just one that dealt in commodities not discussed in polite company. The cashier - a young woman with mouse ears poking through her hair - didn’t so much as glance at the two women as they entered, her nose buried in the latest _Ninjas of Love_ novella.

“The lingerie’s a good first step,” said Coco, winding her way through the shelves, “but if you _really_ want to blow his mind, you’re going to need to get a little unconventional.” She paused, glancing over her shoulder. “Is Fox more into rope or leather?”

“I _really_ don’t know,” Velvet said, her voice almost a whisper. She’d suddenly taken in the wall of pornographic video disks along the wall ( _because ever since the CCT went down everyone’s become_ paranoid _about backing up their porn_ ), titles like _The Squirt Locker_ and _Fill Bill_ jumping out at her in grotesque fonts.

Coco _tsked_. “Let’s guess leather.” She began slowly spinning a carousel of boxed bedroom accessories. “Not to get too into your sex life, but would you say his pain tolerance is _above average_ or-”

“ _Nope_. Leaving now,” Velvet declared definitively, shooting past the mousy cashier fast enough to leave a breeze. Velvet was halfway to the chocolate shop before the door slammed shut.

“ _So_ vanilla,” Coco lamented. She turned around to resume her perusing, before her breath suddenly caught in her throat. A handful of riding crops suddenly fell to the floor.

“Miss… _Goodwitch?”_

“ _THEY’RE FOR WORK._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The porn parody titles were stolen from _[Sex Criminals](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/SexCriminals)_ , which is far funnier than I could ever be.


	5. Chapter 5

The tub eventually refilled with water, providing Fox with the liquid needed to wash off the soap/gel/magic Velvet Scarlatina had rubbed onto him. He wasn’t sure how long in absolute terms it had taken the tub to top off, but in _relative_ terms it was exactly _too many damn_ minutes

The jets shut off, and he bobbed about, buoyantly, for a few seconds, before climbing out as noisily as he possibly could. Just because Velvet had nearly given him a heart attack didn’t mean he wanted to return the favor. Not tonight. He listened to the water streaming from his body making messy pools on the marble, but the world around him was otherwise silent.

_When had his girlfriend gotten so damn sneaky?_

He groped about _extremely_ carefully for the bathrobe - because there was absolutely _nothing_ sexy about slipping in the bathroom like a geriatric - finding first a towel with which to dry himself. He was _pretty_ sure Velvet wasn’t watching him (this time), but he put on a bit more of a show in the off-chance that she was, stretching his arms and his legs in the most eye-catching fashion he could think of.

( _Nothing.)_

Well, that had probably been pointless.

He tossed the towel aside and found the toilet, where, true to her word, a neatly-folded bathrobe that was _far_ too nice to belong to the hotel awaited him. He shrugged it on, belting it loosely around his waist, well-aware of the huge swaths of chest he was baring to the world. The silk fabric was _more_ than comfortable, though there was something in the sleeve-

Fox barely heard some hit the floor.

His fingers brushed over the marble, like a man searching for a lost contact lens, before he found it, another cardboard card embossed with Braille.

⠠⠠⠋⠊⠝⠙ ⠠⠠⠍⠑⠠⠠⠊⠝ ⠠⠠⠃⠑⠙

_(Yeah, there was_ no _hiding an erection in this.)_

He made his way out of the bathroom, wondering in which direction lay the bed. Not like he couldn’t _find_ it, even in a hotel room as spacious as this one, there were really only so many layouts-

-he stepped on something. Something that almost certainly had not been there when he’d entered.

He dropped to one knee, feeling for whatever was now underfoot. Something small, soft, and fragile. He raised it to his lips. _Rose petals_.

Never let it be said that Velvet Scarlatina was not a sucker for the classics.

Fox let his left foot drift in front of him, confirming the existence of more petals ahead. He followed the trail one step at a time, following the little leaves that had been left for him.

He found the bed.

Fox’s breath caught in his throat as he made his way atop it, moving with infinite delicateness to avoid crushing something more precious than petals. _This time_ he heard the gentle rustling before, sounds describing a woman lying atop the sheets.

“ _Velvet_ ,” he breathed, unable to find a more poetic word. He climbed over the edge of the bed, feeling feet.

“ _Hey, boyfriend_ ,” Velvet whispered back. She shuddered a little at his touch.

“You’re…” whatever Fox was about to say he soon forgot, one hand trailing up a leg stockinged in silk.

_(No, he’d_ definitely _never felt this before.)_

“I hope you like it,” Velvet murmured, as his hand slipped from stocking to bare thigh, to skin soft beyond belief. His finger slipped beneath a small strap, tracing the line up to her panties.

“This is definitely a new feeling,” Fox confirmed. His hand slipped back down, repeating the motion as if to memorization the sensation. “ _Whoa_.”

Velvet leaned forward, pressing her lips against Fox’s, her tongue playing over his scar. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Is the surprise that you’re going to pretend to be satisfied?” Fox couldn’t keep himself from teasing.

Velvet bit _his_ lip, before transitioning to another kiss. “I’m _always_ happy when I’m with you,” she replied, with that disarming honesty, sinking back into silken sheets. 

Fox moved to climb more directly atop her, pressing his lips against hers, one hand exploring the stretch of skin between garter belt and panties. Velvet giggled a little, the touch ticklish, before squirming back and sitting up.

“ _Keep going_ ,” she coached, as Fox’s hands made their way up her sides. His hands found the small straps of her bra, connecting to cups lacier than anything Velvet had ever owned. The fabric offered scant protection to his touch, to palms brushing against the unfamiliar.

“Help me out?” Velvet suggested, straightening her back a bit to make clear just what help she wanted. Fox couldn't help but notice the note of nervousness, which he did his best to assuage with kisses.

As sexy as it was, his girlfriend was still a shy being, even when it came to lovemaking. They certainly had _fun_ \- of that there was no denying - but Velvet never felt entirely comfortable putting on an erotic act, playing the sensuous succubus. That had never bothered Fox a whit - he loved his Velvet in all her awkward adorableness - though Velvet herself sometimes felt self-conscious about her own low-key comfort zone.

She was trying to push past that, at least for a night, Fox could tell without asking, as his hands found a perch at her waist. Trying to do what she thought she _should_ , which was more than either of them would’ve ever expected. Fox would never stop loving the earnestness of her essence.

“Help me out,” Velvet repeated, leaning forward to brush her breasts against his chest. Fox raised a bit of eyebrow and pressed a kiss against her. On the spectrum of _ass_ versus _breast_ he was far more an _ass_ man, as academic as the question usually was for Fox, but who was he to argue with Velvet Scarlatina?

His hands made their way up from her waist, pressing along her spine, waiting for the bra clasp. Unlike many a bumbling teenager Fox had no problem with the finicky fasteners, so he planned to slip it open with one-

- _what was that?_

There was something _new_ there that had nothing to do with Velutina’s Secret. Not something Velvet was _wearing_ but something about… _her_. Her skin. Bumps. Bumps he was now running his finger over again and again and _again_ , quintuple-checking that it wasn’t his imagination.

It wasn’t.

⠠⠠⠋⠥⠉⠅ ⠠⠠⠍⠑⠠⠠⠋⠕⠭

“ _Oh_ …”

Velvet grinned in the darkness. “ _Surprised?_ ”

Fox exhaled, hot breath on her face.

“ _Very_.”

And then they were off. Fox pressed his lips into Velvet, searching and hungry, even as his fingers finished unclasping the bra, almost without thought. The lacy garment was cast aside, while Velvet’s fingers undid the loose knot cinching Fox’s robe. Their bare chests pressed against each other, those muscled pectorals Velvet had admired in the tub now rubbing against her breasts.

She fell on her back, Fox lying atop her, his lips moving from her cheek to her neck. His hands drifted south, grabbing her ass and squeezing firmly. Velvet slid back on the bed, coming up to the headboard, while Fox’s lips trailed along her throat to her breasts, lavishing just the right amount of attention on each. Velvet’s breath caught in her throat as his lips found her nipples, brushing _just_ forcibly enough to transmit tingles throughout her body via those hyper-sensitive nodes.

Velvet’s hands found Fox’s head, her fingers slipping through copper hairs. Fox’s let out a faint _grunt_ of pleasure as she slowly clawed at his scalp, his head moving down, south from her sternum.

He let out a snort a second later. “I’m not even entirely sure what this is,” he confessed, his tongue finding the lacy trim of the garter belt.

“Keeps the stockings up,” Velvet explained, as Fox’s hands rubbed along her thighs. “You’ll have to unfasten them.”

He kissed her belly button. “Really?”

“Unless you’d rather tear them off,” Velvet teased.

Fox snorted. “Seems rather wasteful,” he mused, fingers fiddling with the straps, detaching the left stocking.

“Well…” Velvet rolled her neck “...it _is_ your birthday. Any macho fantasies you want to indulge?”

Fox undid the second set of fasteners, before climbing back atop Velvet’s chest. “How about…” ( _kiss_ ) “my fantasy…” ( _kiss_ ) “...of having a beautiful girlfriend who loves me for some reason.” ( _kiss_ ) His hands cradled her head, tracing along where her leporine ears ended. An erogenous zone Velvet _never_ should have confessed existed.

“Sounds like _quite_ the fantasy,” Velvet teased, running her hands along Fox’s chest. It made absolutely _no_ sense, but somehow having Fox framed with an open bathrobe was just embarrassingly arousing.

“Nothing would make me happier,” Fox confirmed, with a rare flash of total honesty.

Velvet grabbed the lapels of his robe and _yanked_ him to her, mashing hungrily against his lips. She’d probably torn something in the gossamer fabric, but right now she couldn’t bring herself to care. With a small _push_ she spun the two of them around, planting Fox into the pillows.

“You are _so_ vanilla,” she teased, leaning back so Fox’s hands could cup her breasts. “I was _totally_ game for whatever weird roleplay you wanted to do. _Call girl_ , _slutty maid_ , _Huntsman groupie_ …”

“Wait, there are Huntsman groupies?” Fox said, with faux shock. “Why wasn’t I told?”

“Too late, you’re stuck with me,” Velvet teased, shuffling further back, so she could properly straddle her mate. She reached back for his dick, finding it unsurprisingly erect. Her hand held the head, gently, sliding further backwards as she stroked. Fox’s hands rubbed along her thighs, just above her knees, what he wanted just out of reach... 

Velvet smiled as Fox pulled himself upright, eager to find more of her, the two lovers facing one another on the bed. In a brief moment of silence Fox heard the _slipping_ fabric of the last of the fasteners being loosened, Velvet’s foot making its way up his leg in an undeniable invitation. He caught her foot as it came to a rest on his chest, pressing his nose to her sole in a motion eliciting giggles.

“I admit… this feels _really_ damn good,” Fox confirmed, as his fingers curled around a bunch of excess fabric by her toes.

“I think you’ll like what’s under them even more,” his lover replied, reclining onto her back. “Or would you rather I gift you the stockings and some time alone?”

Fox snorted, though the prospect of adding _this_ feel to his masturbatory routine was not entirely unappealing. Not that those habits were the kind of things he discussed with _anyone_ , soulmate or otherwise. It was one of the few subjects where Velvet and he were similarly shy, and yet Coco had managed to walk in on them _both_.

Fox began tugging at the stocking in his hand, the fabric stretching slightly as he pulled. A wiser man would’ve started by the welt and rolled it smoothly off, but Fox had even less experience than Velvet when it came to manhandling hosiery. The disrobement thus came to involve a lot more _yanking_ than the suave lover of any woman’s fantasy would’ve needed, but he managed the feat all the same.

He leaned over Velvet’s prone form, his hands resting by her hips. Hips which rolled slightly to the touch.

Velvet felt his breath hot on her neck as he leaned in over her, his lips pressing firmly against her skin. She let out a low _moan_ , feeling her chest rising and falling, her skin going flush with anticipation. He pulled back, his hands running from her neck, over her breasts, back down to her hips, fingers dragging off the garter belt and panties. The last of her clothing was kicked aside, carelessly, Fox shedding his own robe with a languorous shrug. In the faint light of the bedroom Velvet could make around the muscled bulges of his broad shoulders.

“... _Well?_ ” Velvet raised her arms over her head, her hands floating over the edge of the bed.

Fox needed no further encouragement.

Velvet closed her eyes and sucked in a short breath, the mattress sinking as Fox’s hands came to a rest on either side of her. He lowered himself, moving in familiar motions, knees shuffling to make the right angles. One of Fox’s hands slipped back, guiding the tip of his erect member towards her. She felt him brush against her folds, the pressure of his fumbling teasingly arousing.

“ _Ahh_ ,” her breath hitched for a short second, as Fox _eased_ his way inside her. Her toes curled and her eyes squeezed shut as Fox’s familiar presence began to fill her. She’d already worked herself flush with foreplay but he still took things slowly, with patience unbecoming of a man so tempted for so long. Small little thrusts at first, his tip almost exiting with each bob. He pushed deeper in unnoticeable increments, the sensation somehow transitioning from _breath-shortening_ to _throat-parching_ without her noticing.

“ _Fox_.”

“ _Velvet.”_

Her fingernails sunk into the palms of her hands as Fox thrusted, his hands slipping back to her hips to steady the both of them. His semblance of control faded further with each _needy_ push, until his fingers were sinking into her ass, the length of his shaft filling her.

Her back lifted off the bed sheets, her whole body arching in an unthinking effort to add that last ounce of pressure. Fox’s mad tempo kept pace with the thundering of her heart, his hands lifting her hips. Small shouts passed her lips, filling her ears as he filled her, then tension and pressure building and building until she exploded into ecstasy with a raw shout that echoed in their room.

The orgasm that blossomed between her legs shot through her whole body, waves of euphoric release seeming to roll through her with a _shudder_. Her fingers and toes clawed for purchase and pressure, before relaxing entirely, going limp with the rest of her.

Velvet heard their shuttering breaths in her ears, the sounds of release hard-earned.

Fox eased his way out of her, the pressure between Velvet’s legs easing incrementally before suddenly vanishing with a wet _pop_. She let out a faint _gasp_ with the withdrawal, feeling a faint stickiness that was courtesy of her boyfriend’s orgasm.

“Oh…. _gods_ was that something,” breathed Fox, as he lowered himself beside her, one arm draping across her chest. Their skins were clammy and slick with sweat, and before long Velvet would be shivering from the cold... but not yet. Now she just bathed in their shared afterglow, swallowing loudly, her hands curling around Fox’s forearm. She traced the lines of his scars, an unthinking little ritual of hers, feeling the faint lines that wound around his body. His right leg slipped over her left, further entwining them in a messy embrace. “I thought I’d be getting sex on my birthday, but…”

Velvet planted a kiss by his temple. “Managed to surprise you, just a little?” she stated more than asked, feeling a faint sensation of _pride_ in her chest.

“This was more than I could’ve imagined,” Fox confirmed, before repaying the kiss to a furry ear. “Seriously, though, how did you manage that? The Braille on your back? Please tell me those aren’t, like, surgically implanted?”

“Little beads in prosthetics glue,” Velvet explained. “It’ll dissolves in a couple of hours.”

“Safe for skin?” His arm slipped around her shoulders, tilting her slightly towards him. ( _It was a_ good _position_ ).

“That’s what the bottle says,” she affirmed. There was a small possibility of irritation, she’d been warned, but that was a problem for the Velvet Scarlatina of tomorrow.

“ _Huh_. How’d you get it on?” His fingers began running along the epidermal epigram, though some of the beads had already been dislodged by the destructive combination of sweat and sex.

“ _Well_ …”

* * *

ATLAS IMPERIAL CONVENTION CENTRE

THREE HOURS PRIOR

“ _Oh_ , Weiss, what a pleasant surprise,” Velvet said, bumping into a familiar face on the showroom floor.

“Hello, Velvet,” Weiss greeted, with a polite wave. “How’re things?” Her tone suggested the question was a rote formality. The two women moved in the same circles, crossing paths once in a blue moon, but they’d never quite made the transition from _acquaintance_ to _friend_.

“ _Very good_ ,” Velvet answered, with a bit more enthusiasm than the formulaic question warranted. “ _Wonderful_ exhibitions this year, wouldn’t you say?”

“I suppose,” Weiss answered, with an unenthusiastic shrug. She was attending the weapons exhibition to humor her partner rather than any personal interest. “How are you enjoying Atlas so far?”

“Great. Listen: _random question_ ,” Velvet began, barreling forward before her conscious mind could catch up with her. “You don’t happen to read Braille, by any chance?”

Weiss glanced at her old classmate a little skeptically. “No, I’m afraid I’ve never had the chance,” she confirmed, a bit wearily. “Why?”

“ _Wonderful_. Can I borrow you for a few minutes?”

Weiss was being dragged bodily to a bathroom before she could so much as blink.

* * *

“You’re crazy,” Fox joked, pulling Velvet closer so he could kiss her nose. “But thank you.” ( _Kiss_ ). “That was… _fun_.”

“It better have been,” Velvet teased back, pressing against Fox for warmth and love. “Not having _any_ hair down there feels… weird.”

She let out a languid _yawn_ , and Fox draped as much of the bedsheet over her as he could. It was a nice position, her clutched against him, while it lasted. They’d have to move eventually, shuffling around to make proper use of the pillows and blankets, to sleep in a natural position.

But not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Braille sequences were translated into Unicode using the [Unicode Braille Maker](http://qaz.wtf/u/braille.cgi) by [Eli the Bearded/Benjamin Elijah Griffin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Eli_the_Bearded). I admit I can't read Braille and cannot verify the translation, though made a _best efforts_ at QAing the output.
> 
> I've wanted to use hover-text in a story for a long time, with the idea probably tracing back to seeing it used in _[Nerds Flirting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6819694/chapters/15586624)_ by [StVincent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StVincent/pseuds/StVincent). I'm sure someone else has already had the idea of combing Unicode Braille and hover-text but I swear the idea came into my head halfway through the editing process. I was so psyched to see AO3 supporting Unicode Braille I just _had_ to.
> 
> The idea for the ink printer is admittedly borrowed from [a reader comment](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/advice/9415488/A-cheaper-way-to-print-Braille.html) to _The Telegraph_.
> 
> One of these days I'm going to figure out why I tend to write CFVY with a more slice-of-life/humor vibe. To my own… surprise, maybe?... I might also be over-thinking smut.


End file.
